HULU TERENGGANU:The people do not have to carry out panic buying of goods despite reports claiming that the number of COVID-19 transmissions in Malaysia is expected to be more serious next year.

Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Datuk Rosol Wahid said KPDNHEP gave its assurance that the supply of essential goods was always sufficient throughout the period the country was facing the COVID-19 transmissions.

“Every day, KPDNHEP officers will report to me about the availability of goods in the market along with their prices. So we do monitor what items are less or which items go up in price, ”he said after visiting the Kampung Pela Fertigation Farming Centre here, today.

“We have experienced panic buyings during the MCO (Movement Control Order) in March. Nevertheless, the people did not appear to panic during the implementation of CMCO (Conditional Movement Control Order) and the EMCO (Enhanced Movement Control Order).

"After all, Malaysia is expected to get the COVID-19 vaccine next year, so we hope that it (COVID-19 case in Malaysia will be more serious) will not happen," he said

It was reported that an epidemiologist and Chinese government medical adviser, Zhong Nanshan, said the number of COVID-19 transmission cases in Malaysia was expected to be more serious next year and it was expected that the country would record 187,997 COVID-19 pandemic cases on Jan 25, 2021.

Meanwhile, Rosol, who is also the Hulu Terengganu Member of Parliament, approved an allocation of about RM30,000 to repair the piping system at the Kampung Pela Fertigation Farming Centre which used hill water resources.

He said the five-hectare clustered fertigation crop centre has 20 participants who grow various crops including cucumbers and chillies.

-- BERNAMA